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this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
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Asklemmy
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Kinda depends on what you're buying. If you're buying something illicit, then there are a few extra steps that you need to worry about, like downloading the Monero blockchain, and finding an exchange where you can convert your Bitcoin (BTC) to Monero. Yes, BTC can be traced; Coinbase, Circle, et al. will close your account if the wallet address you're sending money to is someone that you shouldn't be sending money to. (And they need a lot of information about you because too many people have used crypto to try and circumvent money laundering laws.)
The nice thing about BTC (and Monero) is that you can buy things overseas--assuming that you have some level of trust with the seller--when credit cards, bank cards, etc., will likely forbid the transaction, or charge steep fees for it.
To do the basic things with Coinbase, etc., you'll need to open an account, give them a lot of proof that you are who you say you are (because of regulations on banks), and link to a bank account. You will buy cryptocurrency either with a credit/debit card (high fees, low limits, and quick turnaround times) or bank transfer (lower fees, high limits, very slow turnaround time). Once the transaction is complete--which might take up to about two weeks), you will have a fixed amount of BTC; the value of that will vary based on what it's currently trading at.
To send money, you'll need a wallet address. Every time you send BTC, there will be a network fee; that's a fraction of the funds that are used to pay the people that are doing the computations on their computers (mining rigs) needed to confirm the transfer of funds. The higher you opt to set the fees, the faster the transfer will confirm; it can be five minutes to about an hour. You should get confirmations.
If you're setting up your own wallet, there are a few more steps to go through. Be aware that setting up offline storage can be a bit of a pain, but is quite a bit more secure than using an exchange to store your currency, as long as you don't lose a hard drive, have a major computer crash, etc.